Home Staging Errors To Avoid

More and more agents and brokers are beginning to recognize the importance and benefits that comes with real estate staging before putting the properties they represent on the market. But what they fail to realize can waste valuable time, create undue pressures and stress, and sink valuable resources into a black hole. There actually is a science to house staging.

Here are a few of the issues that cause many agents to stumble when trying to stage a home according to Barbara Jennings, director of the Academy of Staging and Redesign.

1) Inability to advise sellers of the benefits of redesign – No seller looks forward to spending more money to prepare their home to sell. Yet it is a rare home that requires little to no work. But if the proper tasks are done right, it is amazing how costs for redesign are reduced while making a dramatic improvement in the look and feeling of the home.

2) Inability to keep from offending the sellers – No one likes to be told that their home is a mess, that their decorating efforts are dreary or dreadful, that their home is in disrepair, or that it smells terrible. So getting the truth across to a seller without totally offending them is an art that few agents have mastered. This is one reason why it helps dramatically to bring in a professional stager to give the bad news, keeping the seller/agent relationship in tact.

3) Ignorance of interior design concepts – One cannot hope to properly conduct a proper house staging service if one does not know basic redesign concepts. How much furniture is kept in each room and where it is placed are crucial elements to successful staging of the property.

4) Failure to go far enough in the staging concepts – Knowing how much to do is as important as knowing what to do when it comes to house staging. Far too often untrained beginners are afraid. Fear immobilizes. You really only get one chance to launch a home for sale for the greatest impact. So if it is not handled properly the chance is lost, or at the very least, it is downgraded.

5) Failure to hire professionals to manage the staging – Reducing costs is always a concern and no one like the idea of spending money to make money. But when it comes to house staging, spending money is often required. There are many tasks that will not involve money, such as rearranging furniture and accessories however. Professional stagers are the most reliable people to lean on when it comes to good redesign techniques.

Because home staging is so important, it is something that we offer to all our clients when they list with us.  Contact us to learn more if this is something that you are interested in having along with your listing.

Weekly Market Update – February 3, 2009

Can you believe it… January is already over… Anywho!

Over the past week, the listing count in Calgary has decreased.  This is a good thing, especially when it is mixed with the number of sales increasing.  The median prices for both condos and single family homes have stayed roughly the same as last week with condos at $248,000 (up $1,000) and single family at $377,500.  As well the average days on market have decreased and both condos and single family are sitting at 62 days on market.  With the prices staying where they are at, some would say that the market is starting to stabilize.  I do hope that this is the case, but we will need to have more than a couple weeks of data to see this.  If prices remain the same into the end of February time frame, the tides may have calmed.  We will have to wait and see.

Same as last week, many of the places that buyers are seeing are not quality listings, that do not show well.  This is one area that we try to stand out from the crowd in, and when buyers look at our listings we get many comments that the home viewed was in impeccable condition.

If you are considering buying in Calgary, right now is a great time to buy, as there are some highly motivated sellers out there.  But on the flip side, if you are needing to sell, you need to market your home a certain way, and price it properly, or it could cost you more in the long run.

Thanks for checking out our blog, and we hope that you find it informative and helpful in your real estate adventures.

Map of Calgary Show Homes – January 2009

Buying a brand new home can be a very exciting, as most likely you are getting exactly what you want, and not settling for a resale home with aspects you may or may not love.  There is a giant myth out there that Real Estate Agents are not able to work with new home builders, but in fact, this is not true, especially in this current market where builders are needing the MLS to market their homes.

Some builders will do almost anything to have you sign on the line, and with some rep’s that sit in the show homes not be fully qualified to sell homes, you will want someone on your side who has your best interest in mind and fully qualified.  We at the Chamberlain Group have had extensive experience with new homes and new home builders as we were apart of a development that sold 93 brand new condos where we did marketing and sales.

We have also had clients who wanted us to sit in on all meetings with the builder and even attend the meetings for picking out their flooring, lighting, cabinets etc. But then we have had clients that just want us to help them with all the paperwork and read over what the contract says to make sure that they are fully covered, as builders & developers use their own offer sheets that are drafted by their lawyers, and in most cases cover their ASSets before yours…

Whether you use us or not, it is very important to have a third party representative who has your interest and only yours as their number one priority.

On that note…

Below is a map of all the show home location in Calgary that was used in The Calgary Herald on January 3, 2009.  If you have any questions about new homes, show homes, spec. homes etc. please contact us at sales@tcgroup.ca or 403-366-3130

Please Click On The Image To Enlarge It

Weekly Market Update – Week 50

As we head into the Christmas season, and the focus changes to family time, and holidays, we will see a further reduction in listings, and sales.  Over one month, we are down 80 sales per week from 253 during the week of November 17, 2008 to this week at 173. Even further back we are down 143 sales per week from the week of October 14, 2008 at 316 sales.

We will most likely see the number of listings drop a bit further, but will pick up again middle to end of January.  There still will be sales happening, but in most cases you will feel the slow down, which is typical this time of the year.

The properties that are selling right now are the ones that are priced well, show well and are willing to negotiate when the offer comes in.  If you are fortunate to have an offer in this market, it is worth a serious look at, and consideration.

November 2008 Market Update

An educated consumer, watchful of current market trends, still drives Calgary’s real estate market.

While November typical seasonal slowdown was magnified by the prevailing lack of overall consumer spending compared to one year ago, the changes in the listings-to-sales ratio demonstrates strategic thinking on the part of buyers and sellers alike.

Calgary single-family unit sales for the month of November totalled 670, 18.3% fewer sales than the month before while new listings added for this market segment dropped by 32.5% compared to the previous month’s report. The larger drop in new listings added results in fewer properties offered overall and indicates thoughtful intention on the part of sellers. The median price of a single-family unit held steady at $387,300, a decrease of only 0.7% compared to the month before. The average price of a Calgary single-family unit in November recorded at $435,471, 5% off the average recorded last November.

Change in the condo market indicators revealed more consistent month-over-month buyer/seller intention. Condominium sales recorded a decline of 29% from October this year, while new listings in November dropped 30.8% below new listings added one month ago. The average price of a condominium unit dropped 1.2% below the average price the month before and recorded at $312,710 this November.